It’s lifeguards to the rescue after storm blasts beach

DANIA BEACH — After Hurricane Irma hit, Dania’s lifeguards saved a different kind of victim: The beach.

They used chainsaws to cut back fallen palm trees and a rented Bobcat to level out sand dune after sand dune and clear pathways leading to the beach.

“We have a reputation for being a small but mighty beach,” said Alice Henley, one of 20 lifeguards who pitched in after the storm.

The beach reopened on Wednesday – 10 days after the storm hit on Sept. 10.

After the storm, the beach parking lot was flooded with sand and water, said Michael Huck, chief of Ocean Rescue in Dania Beach.

Lifeguard stands that had been moved from the beach to the parking lot before the storm looked like stilt houses surrounded by standing water.

“It was pretty bad,” he said. “Tons of sand came onto the parking lot, at least three feet deep. Instead of a snow drift, it was a sand drift.”

Lifeguards weren’t allowed on the beach the day after the storm because of downed power lines. But on Tuesday, deputies let them through so they could get to work.

“Public works had their hands full,” Huck said. “They had to go to the cemetery to clear trees, and they had to clear roads. They had a lot going on. We decided to pitch in because they weren’t going to get to the beach for a while.”

Huck and his crew cleared storm drains to alleviate the flooding and helped move their lifeguard stands back to the beach. “We’re a tiny beach with a small staff,” Henley said. “We realized if we didn’t do it ourselves, it probably wouldn’t get done.”

ALICE HENLEY/COURTESY Dania Beach closed its beach after Hurricane Irma hit on Sept. 10. It reopened on Wednesday, more than a week after the storm, partly thanks to lifeguards who pitched in to move trees and level out sand dunes created by the storm.

SUSANNAH BRYAN/STAFF Parts of the beach are still not yet back to normal, as shown in this photo taken north of the pier on Thursday.